Mountaintop Golf & Lake Club
Cashiers, North CarolinaMountaintop Golf and Lake Club arrived on the Cashiers plateau in 2006 with a clear ambition: to build a private mountain community that could stand with any in the country, from the granite up. Developed by Discovery Land Company and spread across 750 acres at 4,000 feet, it lives up to that intention. The Tom Fazio par-70 course, measuring 7,127 yards with a slope rating of 145, was blasted from solid granite at a cost that would be significant even by today's standards, and it has been ranked among Golf Digest's top courses in the country.
The community holds 240 estate homesites and 75 cabins arranged across the mountain, along with a 56,000-square-foot clubhouse and off-site access to Lake Glenville, the highest major lake east of the Rockies. It is a community built at a scale and with an intention that is impossible to miss, and the homes we have built here reflect that.
Appalachian Vernacular at Its Fullest
Mountaintop's architectural identity has been described as Appalachian vernacular, masculine and grand. It is not a community for minimal or understated design. The homes here are large, the materials are heavy, and the intention is permanence. Stone, timber, standing seam metal, dark stained siding, broad covered porches, and great rooms that can hold the views this mountain commands.
What the description does not capture is the level of craft required to build at Mountaintop's standard. The community's design review process is detailed and the expectations are high. Materials are inspected, proportions are scrutinized, and the relationship of each home to its site is evaluated carefully. We have been through that process and know what it takes to move through it efficiently without compromising the outcome.
"The granite they blasted to make that golf course is the same granite we build on. You can't ignore the mountain at Mountaintop."
What Building Here Requires
At 4,000 feet, Mountaintop's climate is demanding. Extended snow cover, freeze-thaw cycles that test every flashing and foundation detail, and high winds that arrive without much warning. Building here requires the same attention to envelope and material performance that we apply across the plateau, at an elevation where the margin for error is even smaller.
The estate homesites vary considerably in their topography, from gentler ridgeline positions to dramatic drop-offs with long-range mountain views. Each site drives a different foundation strategy, and getting that right from the start matters more than it might on more forgiving terrain.
Building at Mountaintop?
We know Mountaintop's design review process, its elevation conditions, and the standard of craft the community has established. We are glad to talk through your homesite and your vision.
Begin the conversation